Agonistic behavior and social organization in a herd of goats as affected by the introduction of non-members

Addison, William E.; Baker, Elaine

doi:10.1016/0304-3762(82)90216-4

Cited by 38 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Introduced animals were targets of agonistic interactions (AgoPhysRec, AgoNonPhysRec) rather than initiators (AgoPhysAct, AgoNonPhysAct) in all introductions, coinciding with the results reported by Mench et al (1990) in cattle and Patt et al (2012) in goats, but the incidence was lower during LK. Especially during PD, the highest levels of agonistic interactions directed against young goats were observed on d 1 (AgoPhysRec) and on d 1 to 3 (AgoNonPhysRec), in line with other studies and species (e.g., Addison and Baker, 1982;Andersen et al, 2008;von Keyserlingk et al, 2008). The less pronounced increase for LK may indicate an easier integration of nonfamiliar animals through the easier establishment of dominance relationships during that period.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

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Introducing young dairy goats into the adult herd after parturition reduces social stress

Szabó

Barth

Graml

et al. 2013

Journal of Dairy Science

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The aim of this experiment was to compare social stress, as measured by social behavior and adrenocortical activity, in young dairy goats during the first week after introduction into a herd of adult goats either during the dry period of the herd (i.e., all goats in the herd being pregnant or dry: PD) or shortly after parturition (i.e., all animals lactating or with their kids: LK). Thirty-two young goats that had had no contact with adult goats from the age of 7 wk were introduced into adult goat groups. Adult goats were kept in 2 groups of 36 animals each. Young goats were introduced (in groups of 4 animals each) into each of these 2 groups either during the PD period (2 repetitions) or during LK (2 repetitions); goats with different rearing experience were balanced over introduction periods. Young goats were more often receivers of agonistic social interactions when introduced during PD than during LK. Irrespective of the period of introduction, young goats had other young goats as neighbors more frequently than expected by chance alone, although this was even more distinct during PD. Cortisol metabolite levels increased markedly from baseline during PD, but not after parturition. Rearing showed an effect only on the nearest neighbors, with mother-reared young goats staying closer together. Our results indicate that young goats experience less social stress when being introduced into a herd of adult dairy goats shortly after parturition and with kids still present rather than during the dry period. Whether this effect is due to the period and lactational stage itself or to the presence of kids needs to be tested in future studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…For each interaction, the actor (the goat initiating interaction) and receiver (goat being the target of interaction) were recorded. The ethogram is based on previous studies on social behavior in goats (e.g., Shank, 1972;Addison and Baker, 1982;Schino, 1998).…”

Section: Social Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing young dairy goats into the adult herd after parturition reduces social stress

Szabó

Barth

Graml

et al. 2013

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…Sheep and goats showed relatively low rates of intraspecies agonistic behavior (Addison & Baker, 1982;Andersen & Boe, 2006). Sex as well as the small group size might have had a certain influence here.…”

Section: Behavior and Behavioral Testsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Stress Assessment in Small Ruminants Kept on City Farms in Southern Germany

Schilling

Reese

Palme

et al. 2015

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

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Sheep and goats are frequently used in nonhuman animal-assisted activities on city farms. There are few data available on this type of usage of small ruminants. Health evaluations, behavioral observations (feeding, resting, comfort, explorative and social behaviors), behavioral tests (human approach tests and touch test), and measurements of fecal cortisol metabolites and heart rate were performed to assess stress levels in 25 sheep and 32 goats on 7 city farms and 2 activity playgrounds in Germany. No evidence was found that the animals suffered from major distress. Health evaluations, behavioral observations, and behavioral tests proved to be the methods of stress assessment most suitable for routine on-farm checks in these settings.

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“…Goat herds establish a stable and linear hierarchic order (Barroso at al., 2000), maintained by agonistic and affiliative social interactions among individuals. Mixing unknown animals alters this social hierarchy and can lead to an increase in agonistic behaviour (Addison and Baker, 1982;Andersen et al, 2007), expressed as aggression with contact, such as biting, bumping, or aggression without contact, leading to threat displays, chases, and escapes (Alvarez et al, 2007). However, aggressive interactions have been shown to decrease dramatically 24 h after mixing (Alley and Fordham, 1994).…”

Section: Transport Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Opinion Concerning the Welfare of Animals during Transport

2011

EFSA Journal

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The Scientific Opinion on the welfare of animals during transport reviewed the most recent scientific information concerning the main farm species. New scientific evidence and consequent conclusions and recommendations were arranged following the structure of Annex I of EC Regulation 1/2005 5 . On fitness for transport, recommendations for cattle and poultry were focused on repeated humane handling and careful inspection prior to transport. On the means of transport, use of partitions in horse transport, compulsory fasting of pigs with provision of water at stops, and temperature limits for poultry were major recommendations. Maintaining stability of animal groups was recommended as good practice, with special emphasis on the need to avoid mixing unfamiliar pigs or goats. On watering and feeding intervals, journey times and resting periods, journey duration should not exceed 12 hours for horses and 29 hours for cattle. Horses should be supplied with water one hour before and one hour after transport, and for cattle there should be a 24 hour recovery period with access to food and water. For rabbits, time spent inside the containers during lairage should be considered journey time. Space allowance for horses should be given in terms of kg/m 2 instead of m 2 /animal. For cattle and sheep, it is recommended that space allowances should be calculated according to an allometric equation relating size to body weight. Limits for stocking densities of broilers in containers should be related to thermal conditions. On the navigation systems, temperature monitoring systems should be incorporated. Minimum standards should be established regarding data type to be recorded, the 4 The changes do not affect the overall conclusions of the opinion. To avoid confusion, the original version of the opinion has been removed from the website, but is available on request, as is a version showing all the changes made.

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Agonistic behavior and social organization in a herd of goats as affected by the introduction of non-members

Cited by 38 publications

References 6 publications

Introducing young dairy goats into the adult herd after parturition reduces social stress

Introducing young dairy goats into the adult herd after parturition reduces social stress

Stress Assessment in Small Ruminants Kept on City Farms in Southern Germany

Scientific Opinion Concerning the Welfare of Animals during Transport

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